lose

verb

1. 1

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.

   If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.

   He lost his hearing in the explosion.

   She lost her position when the company was taken over.

   Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.

2. 2

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability. To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.

   Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy.

   He lost his spleen in a car wreck.

3. 3

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability. To shed (weight).

   I’ve lost five pounds this week.

4. 4

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability. To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).

   She lost all her sons in the war.

   I hold it true, whate’er befall; ⁠I feel it, when I sorrow most; ⁠’Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.

5. 5

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability. To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet or gamble.

   Frank had lost $500 staying in Vegas.

6. 6

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability. To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something).

   Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts.

7. 7

   To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.

   I lost my way in the forest.

   He hath lost his fellows.

8. 8

   To become a defeated competitor in (a game, competition, trial, etc).

   We lost the football match.

   You just lost The Game.

   I fought the battle bravely which I lost, / And lost it but to Macedonians.

   Well, some news from overseas: according to a new report, Russia is now buying military supplies from North Korea. Yep, Russia's asking North Korea for help. Uh, tell us you're losing the war without telling us you're losing the war.

9. 9

   To be defeated (in a game, competition, contest, etc.)

   The team scored four goals but still managed to lose.

10. 10

    To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.

    The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.

    Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down.

11. 11

    To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.

    lose the cops

    We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.

12. 12

    To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).

    I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now. But I don't need to because Mickie loses his anger, starts smiling at ponytail, then melodramatically starts looking around at the men and women on the street going in and out of the courthouse.

    Her attitude was so bad my mother wound up telling her, “You know we really don't have to be standing here talking to you, so you can lose the attitude or you can leave.

13. 13

    informalTo shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.

    When we get into the building, please lose the hat.

    Lose that extra space on the left.

    You can bet that the next woman who "loses" the top half of her bikini at the beach was born under the sign of Libra.

14. 14

    Of a clock, to run slower than expected.

    My watch loses five minutes a week.

    It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.

15. 15

    To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.

    O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.

    a. 1699, Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet, On the Excesses of Grief How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?

    Anyone who knew you were gay, especially if they were straight, had life-and-death power over you. That person could lose you your job, get you evicted, or have you generally hounded out of town.

    This lost Catholicism […] any semblance of a claim to special status, and also highlighted the gains which other religious formations had derived from the Revolution.

16. 16

    To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.

    She moved out of hearing and I lost the end of the sentence.

noun

1. 1

   Variant of loosAlternative form of loos (“praise; fame; reputation”).

Forms

past tense

lost

past participle

lost

present participle

losing

third person singular

loses